Assessment of executive functions in female rhythmic gymnasts of different levels of sports qualification

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Ageev E.V.
Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health; The Military Institute of Physical Training of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Saint Petersburg, Russia).
Email: bleiz195@mail.ru
Soboleva E.A.
Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health (Saint Petersburg, Russia).
Medvedeva E.N.
Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health (Saint Petersburg, Russia).
Baryaev A.A.
Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health (Saint Petersburg, Russia).

No. 11, pp. 104–106

Received: 16.09.2026 | Published: 23.10.2026

CC BY 4.0

Abstract

Objective of the study is to assess the features of the manifestation of executive functions in female athletes of aesthetic gymnastics teams of different qualification levels. Methods and structure of the study. Three teams of 8 persons each, differing in age and qualification, took part in the scientific work: ‘novice’ athletes (8-10 years old, without a rank), qualified athletes (10-12 years old, 2nd-3rd adult ranks) and highly qualified athletes (18-19 years old, candidates for master of sport). The assessment of the executive functions of the athletes was conducted under conditions of group testing: the ‘Go/NoGo’ test assessed inhibitory control, and the ‘Mental rotation’ test — working memory and spatial thinking. The statistical processing included one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc comparisons with the Games–Howell correction. Results and conclusions. No statistically significant differences in reaction time in the ‘Go/NoGo’ test were found, whereas in the ‘Mental rotation’ test significant intergroup differences were revealed both in reaction time and in the number of errors made. The most pronounced differences were observed between the highly qualified athletes and the two other groups. A ‘speed–accuracy’ trade-off effect was found: in the qualified teams the reaction time was longer, and the number of errors smaller, than in the novices.

KEYWORDS

aesthetic gymnastics, executive functions, psychophysiological compatibility.

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